"Rogue" Unit at EPA Protects Malfactors

We should be getting used to this by now, between Fast and Furious, Benghazi and the IRS scandals, but there's one big difference here. The independent investigation being blocked is not a partisan Republican congressional investigation, but instead, the agencies own watchdogs, the Inspector Generals. 

EPA accused of blocking independent investigations

A unit run by President Barack Obama’s political staff inside the Environmental Protection Agency operates illegally as a “rogue law enforcement agency” that has blocked independent investigations by the EPA’s inspector general for years, a top investigator told Congress.

The assistant EPA inspector general for investigations, Patrick Sullivan, was expected to testify Wednesday before a House oversight committee about the activities of the EPA’s little-known Office of Homeland Security.

The office of about 10 employees is overseen by EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy’s office, and the inspector general’s office is accusing it of impeding its independent investigations into employee misconduct, computer security and external threats, including compelling employees involved in cases to sign non-disclosure agreements.

One of the investigations being blocked is the curious case of  John Beale, the  EPA "Senior Advisor" who convinced the staff that he was an undercover CIA agent working on "climate change issues, and spent years worth of time absent, received bonuses, and charged non-work travel to the agency at first class rates, and claiming disabilities that apparently didn't exist.  His direct supervisor was Gina McCarthy. He was recently sentenced to 32 months in prison.

“Under the heavy cloak of ‘national security,’ the Office of Homeland Security has repeatedly rebuffed and refused to cooperate with the OIG’s ongoing requests for information or cooperation,” Sullivan wrote in prepared testimony obtained by The Associated Press. “This block unquestionably has hamstrung the Office of Inspector General’s ability to carry out its statutory mandate to investigate wrongdoing of EPA employees.”

EPA has become a rogue agency.  Since all human activities have the potential to make changes in the environment, the agencies legislative mandate is pretty expansive to begin with, and with the fervor of true believers that permeate the leadership and staff of the agency, they are always pushing to expand their domain.  Time for my "modest proposal" for political affirmative action on the staff of the EPA (and other politically sensitive agencies).  Fire half the staff and specifically hire conservative republicans to replace them, and allow the two sides to police each other.

EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe was expected to tell Congress that the agency’s employees work cooperatively with the inspector general and support its mission, according to his prepared testimony.

And here I thought lying to Congress was illegal.  Silly me!